Shatner, Bird, Park to Present at Annies

Stepping out from the audio booth to host the 33rd Annual Annie Awards, voice actor Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) will be joined by some high-caliber Hollywood talent. ASIFA’Hollywood today announced the roster of presenters to participate in this year’s ceremony, taking place on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif.

The animation industry’s biggest awards event will feature appearances by actor William Shatner (Boston Legal, Over the Hedge), writer/director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) director Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run), actor Craig T. Nelson (The Incredibles, The Family Stone), actor Jason Alexander (Seinfeld, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and TV toon creator Seth McFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad). A number of other Tinsel Town luminaries will hand out trophies for the year’s best animation before a crowd of nearly 1,000 industry insiders.

Leading in nominations this year is DreamWorks Animation’s and Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The clay-animated feature nabbed a total 16 nods, including one for Best Animated Feature. The supernatural comedy is up against fellow DreamWorks release Madagascar, Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, Disney’s presentation of Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Disney’s Chicken Little. Read more about the nominees at www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=4784 or www.annieawards.com.

The Annie Awards recognize overall excellence and individual achievements in animation across film, television, short subjects and gaming in 22 categories, The 33rd annual event will get underway with a black-tie pre-reception and red carpet arrivals starting at 3 p.m. The awards ceremony will commence at 5 pm and a post event celebration will follow immediately at Milano’s Cucina Italiana, located at 525 N. Brand Blvd.

Tickets are available to the public as space permits. Contact the Alex Theatre box office at (818) 243-2539. Admission is $75 per person and tickets include both pre and post receptions.